As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems often include one or more optional features or devices. Typically, the presence or absence of such features or devices is indicated by communicating a signal indicative of the particular feature or device to a controller, microprocessor, or other device. Traditionally, each such signal is communicated to a corresponding pin of the controller/microprocessor. As number of optional features and devices increases, the number of pins on the controller/microprocessor also increases, thus potentially leading to increased cost and hardware complexity.